------ Forwarded Message
> From:
> Date: 7 May 2008 20:37:46 -0000
> To:
> Subject: Exploiting Google MX servers as Open SMTP Relays
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> Vulnerability Report:
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> As part of our recent work on the trust hierarchy that exists among email
> providers throughout the Internet, we have uncovered a serious security f=
law
> in Ggoogle's free email service, Gmail. This vulnerability exposes Google=
's
> email servers in a way that allows an attacker to use them as open spam a=
nd
> phishing relays. This issue is related to the risk of a malicious user ab=
using
> Gmail's email forwarding functionality. This is possible because Gmail's =
email
> forwarding functionality does not impose proper security restrictions dur=
ing
> its setup process and can be easily subverted. By exploiting this problem=
an
> attacker can send unlimited spam and phishing (i.e. forged) email message=
s
> that are delivered by Google's very own SMTP servers. Since the messages =
are
> delivered by Google's own servers, an attack based on this flaw is able t=
o
> bypass all spam filters that are based on the blacklist / whitelist conce=
pt.
> We were able to confirm that this vulnerability is indeed exploitable b
> y crafting a proof of concept attack that allowed us to send any number =
of
> forged email messages without restriction through Google's server
> infrastructure. We have also verified that this flaw allows attackers to
> bypass spam filters by using our method to send messages that are usually
> flagged as spam. While sending these messages directly from our network i=
n the
> traditional way had the messages classified as spam, by sending the very =
same
> messages using our exploit, the messages were delivered directly to the
> victim's inbox, thus bypassing filters.
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> Impact:
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> All email providers that offer Google's SMTP servers any special level of
> trust (e.g. whitelist status) are vulnerable.
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> Disclosure:
> We have contacted Google about this issue and are waiting for their posit=
ion
> before releasing further details.
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> For more information, visit our homepage:
> http://ece.uprm.edu/~andre/insert
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> Regards,=20
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> Pablo Ximenes, Andr=E9 dos Santos
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> INSERT - Information Security Research Team
> University of PR at Mayaguez (UPRM), USA
> State University of Cear=E1 (UECE), Brazil
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> pablo.ximenes@upr.edu, andre@dossantos.org
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